April 8, 2013

Travel Destination: Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta

Spring break have given us a welcomed opportunity to heed the call of travel. A natural inclination for my traveler family. Our adventure destination? Atlanta! We've never set foot on downtown Atlanta rather just around its perimeter, which is why we have planned to go for years. Unfortunately, our initial attempt failed earlier this year, but our big break finally came! And great timing too -- we're celebrating a Royal {pain - joke} birthday! So, HELLO Road Trip!

Family Tour Map

Our itinerary included the famous attractions in Atlanta: World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park and our first stop, Legoland Discovery Center.

Legoland was a birthday surprise. But we were the one who got surprised! Yes, surprise-ingly lost! We did see the sign on the mall's entrance on the approach but that was pretty much it. "Sign people. Signs!" Mr. Zensible Mama griped as he maneuver his way around the mall losing zen by the minute. At this point, my head is almost spinning as we literally were doing "tour de Mall". Imagine stars and birds hovering around my head every time he turns a corner.

Squeals of delight turned into sighs of confusion and mutters of frustration. After a literally endless Nascar-like laps around the mall, we finally found the hidden gem. And hidden was right! Legoland Discovery Center is tucked-in inside at the very far end of Phipps Plaza. We discovered this in our dazed haste to find it within the parking deck! Nice.

Sign Fail

Would it hurt to put signs up? It was amazing NOT finding one that points where to turn or where to go. Tourists and first-timers like us are sure to get lost as we obviously did. Even our GPS was lost. "It's Legoland not treasure hunt Lego peeps!"

A picture within a picture taken at the "welcome" lobby

At the "Welcome" Lobby leading towards the main hall

The Attraction

It is comparably small and felt rather cramped. My initial expectation was that it would be of a Park-like setting. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The center shares a space in the mall which could be a factor to its limited capacity. It almost seem like they tried to fit everything in and ended up a bit claustrophobic. And with the influx of screaming kids and parents running around crazy, the place can get overly crowded beyond one's liking.

The experience

From the ticketing gate, you will be momentarily held in a waiting room until the yellow doors open into a "welcome" lobby heading to the main hall. On the left, is the Kingdom Quest ride, which I personally enjoyed -- only because I scored double what my two sidekicks got -- and I got to use a laser gun and shoot aliens! Yeah! Suckers...

Towards the right is the Miniland where an interactive lego mini-structures of iconic landmark buildings and attractions in Atlanta is displayed. The room is programmed to go "dark" on intervals to showcase the exhibit's lighting effects which does look pretty cool. Some of the displays needed a bit of attention and upkeep but overall it was a work of art!

Inside the main hall, you'll find the Merlin's Appentice ride, the cafe, the 4D Theatre -- we saw Racer which was not bad -- and the rest of the attraction, then it exits towards the store which was uncannily not fully stocked and similarly small likewise.

Yeah. I just had to! It was bound to happen.

Recommendations

For the price we paid, it almost wasn't worth it but it can be a good option for a last-alternative destination for when your young kids are bored out of their wits and needed to let out some of that pent-up energy or they simply just love Lego and you really, really must go and be in it! To us, it was more or less a getting-to-know-the-place experience. It was ok but will we go back? Probably not. But we might go visit the store if we're in the area again. And the activity pack, don't buy it unless you must have a yellow lanyard bling on your neck. There really wasn't much in it that is exciting besides the stamp collecting. Save your bucks if you can. 90% of the parents I saw there were wearing it around their necks and none of their kids ever used it. My daughter herself didn't even fully utilize hers and ended up on Mr. Zensible Mama's neck! Souvenir? perhaps.

"But we still love you Lego. Nothing will change that. If you must know, we got ourselves Lego keychains. R2D2 for me. Princess for the daughter and Sensei Wu for the hubby. You should be proud of us!"

Next stop: World of Coca-Cola. Come follow our journey. Vrrroooooommmm...

1 comment:

Nice sharing friend. Your images are very nice. It is very informative and enjoyable places for all kids and adults. I have not ever heard about it but after reading you blog I wish I visit in Legoland Discovery Center. I am going to hawaii tours with my family. After complete this tour I must go there with my children to see the amazing place. Thanks a lot for this great information.

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